Waukesha County considers shutting down its Huber work-release jail because of a labor shortage
Waukesha County is considering shutting down the Huber Facility work release program because of a labor shortage.
The move would affect about 100 incarcerated people.
Sheriff Eric Severson announced that he and County Executive Paul Farrow are considering phasing out the program. County Executive Press Secretary Nicole Armendariz said the discussions are due to labor shortages.
“Within the past two weeks it became clear that the (county) jail would reach a critical shortage of correctional officers and discussions about ways to streamline public safety operations began,” Armendariz said in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She added that they are considering moving officers from the Huber Facility to the Waukesha County Jail.
The building at 1400 Northview Road, Waukesha, has hosted the Huber program since 1990, but it is older and prone to maintenance issues, which contributed to consideration of closing the location, according to County Board members. The board would have to approve the closure for it to take effect.
If county leadership decides to phase out the program, Armendariz said they would possibly move officers from the Huber Facility to the county jail and use more digital monitoring options for convicted individuals, such as ankle monitors or alcohol sensors.
Currently, judges have the option of sentencing convicted individuals to the Huber Facility, which allows them to maintain their jobs through work-release privileges. Those in the Huber program can leave the facility during working hours to seek or attend a job, care for family or attend school.
Wendel Hruska is the executive director of Milwaukee’s Project Return, a post-incarceration organization that helps people return to society and be successful after completing their sentences. Hruska said work release centers allow individuals to get back in the community.
“It gives them the ability of earning an income while incarcerated,” Hruska said. “When they are released, they have got that nest egg set up that they can afford an apartment or can maintain that employment post-release.”
Hruska said the program risks allowing incarcerated people to walk off a job site, as there is much less supervision outside of the jail facility. He added that it is not a common occurrence, as people do not want to risk the additional charges such a move would prompt.
Hruska said the benefits outweigh the risks.
"It gets them to be able to have the opportunity to make some decisions on their own in the community versus having every decision made for them by correctional staff," Hruska said.
Severson and Waukesha County District Attorney Susan Opper were unavailable to discuss the potential change. Severson and Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow are forming a workgroup to plan the closure, according to an email forwarded to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by County Board Supervisor Larry Nelson.
Nelson expressed hopes for the electronic monitoring systems to replace the work that the Huber program is currently doing.
“They are going to be working on a system that hopefully will have more accountability than the current system, but also have the ability to save taxpayer dollars,” Nelson said.
The county is currently evaluating the Northview facility. Nelson said since the building is in a high-traffic area, developers have been interested in the property.
Lydia Morrell can be reached at 320-444-2339 or lmorrell@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at lydia_morrell.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Huber Facility could be phased out
